Electronic signing using action responsive document copy generation

ABSTRACT

A system, computer-readable storage medium, and computer-implemented method for signing a document involving generating copies of the document in response to receiving actions to perform on the document. In particular, a web service can transmit a document for signing to a client device such that the document is viewable through graphical user interfaces while the underlying content of the document remains non-editable by the client devices through the web service. Responsive to receiving actions, the web service can generate one or more copies of the document that may include modifications that correspond to the received actions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/076,320, filed Mar. 21, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,614,264, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/572,644, filedDec. 16, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,292,876, which applications areincorporated by reference herein its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to document management and moreparticular, but not exclusive, to managing editable and non-editabledocuments for review and electronic signature in a digital transactionservice.

BACKGROUND

The use of electronic signatures to sign documents has greatly increasedin the past few years. Electronic signatures can allow multiple partiesin a transaction to efficiently sign documents from remote locations,while maintaining confidence that the party signing the document is theactual signer. These electronic signature systems, however, can limitthe efficiency of a transaction when multiple edits are made to thesigning documents during the transaction. Thus, it is with respect tothese considerations and others that the invention has been made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention aredescribed in detail below with reference to the following drawings. Inthe drawings, like reference numerals refer to like componentsthroughout the various figures unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a digitaltransaction service;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an alternative example embodiment of adigital transaction service;

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of an example screenshot of a transactionroom;

FIG. 4 shows an illustration of an example screenshot of a document'shistory in a transaction room;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show illustrations of example screenshots of theassociation of recipients and signing roles in a transaction room;

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C show illustrations of example screenshots ofunassociated signing roles and corresponding documents in a transactionroom;

FIG. 7 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of an overview process for managing document snapshots in anelectronic signature system to provide copies of documents to one ormore recipients for review and/or signature;

FIG. 8 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for storing copies of documents in an electronicsignature system based on document snapshot triggers;

FIG. 9 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for auto-tagging a copy of a document forelectronic signature based on a pre-tagged document and associatedsigning roles; and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example computing system forimplementing example embodiments of a digital transaction service.

FIG. 11 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for generating a copy of a document having a tagautomatically overlaid in the copy of the electronic document based on apre-tag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are described more fully hereinafter with referenceto the accompanying drawings, which form 1 a part hereof, and whichshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments by which theinvention may be practiced. The embodiments may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the embodiments to those skilled in the art. Amongother things, the various embodiments may be methods, systems, media, ordevices. Accordingly, the various embodiments may be entirely hardwareembodiments, entirely software embodiments, or embodiments combiningsoftware and hardware aspects. The following detailed descriptionshould, therefore, not be limiting.

Briefly stated, embodiments are directed towards facilitating a digitaltransaction between at least two users. At least one document may beassigned or otherwise uploaded to a transaction room associated with anelectronic signature service. The transaction room provides a pluralityof participants controlled access to the at least one document based ona role of each of the plurality of participants. In some embodiments,the at least one document may be received from an owner participant at afirst web service, wherein the at least one document is editable throughthe first web service. The at least one document may be linked to thetransaction room at the electronic signature service, wherein theelectronic signature service maintains non-editable copies of the atleast one document, tags a copy of the document for signature, andprovides the tagged document copy to at least one signing user.

In response to a document-snapshot trigger that is associated with adocument of the at least one document, a first copy of the document maybe created. In some embodiments, the document-snapshot trigger may be anaction by a participant where a current copy of the document is obtainedfor performing at least one of faxing the current copy, emailing thecurrent copy, or signing the current copy. The first copy of thedocument may be provided to at least one of the plurality ofparticipants (i.e., one or more recipients) for review. In variousembodiments, the first copy of the document is non-editable by theplurality of participants, while editability of the document ismaintained in the transaction room (e.g., by the document owner).

In various embodiments, the document may be prepared for electronicsignature via the electronic signature service. In some embodiments,when the document has changed after the first copy of the document wasprovided for review, a second copy of the document may be created andtagged for signature. In other embodiments, when the document has notchanged after the first copy of the document was provided for review,the first copy of the document may be tagged for signature. In someembodiments, tagging the document copy for signature may includepre-tagging the document for at least one signature associated with atleast one signing role, and tagging a copy of the document based on thesigning user associated with the signing role in the pre-taggeddocument.

In some embodiments, it may be determined if the tagged documentincludes at least one pre-tagged signing role that is unassociated witha signing user. In response to this determination, a report may beprovided to the user identifying the determination of an unassociatedpre-tagged signing role. In some embodiments, a history of the documentmay be provided to a participant. The history may list each actionassociated with the document and a reference to a snapshot copy of thedocument obtained in response to a corresponding action. In at least oneembodiment, deletion of the document may result in deletion of alldocument copies.

The brief description of the invention is intended to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This brief descriptionis not intended as an extensive overview. It is not intended to identifykey or critical elements, or to delineate or otherwise narrow the scope.Its purpose is merely to present some concepts in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detail description this is presented later.

Example Computing System Implementation

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a digitaltransaction service. In particular, FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 forfacilitating electronic signatures between users. Digital TransactionService (DTS) 101 that provides an electronic signature capability. TheDTS 101 is utilized by a sender user 110 and a signer user 111 tofacilitate an electronic signing of one or more recipients of asignature document.

The DTS 101 facilitates the creation of electronic signature documentsand the association of electronic signatures therewith. In theillustrated scenario, the sender 110 operates a sender client device 50in order to provide (e.g., upload, transmit) an electronic document 102(e.g., an invoice, contract, purchase order, agreement) to the DTS 101.The sender 110 typically also provides additional information to the DTS101, such as the identity or contact information (e.g., email address)of the signer 111, an indication of signature data (e.g., signatures,initials, dates) that are to be collected from the signer 111, and thelike. The DTS 101 then securely stores the received document 102 andadditional information.

The signer 111 then accesses the document 102. Typically, the sender 110notifies the signer 111, such as by causing the DTS 101 to send to thesigner 111 a message (e.g., an email) that includes a reference (e.g., aURL) or other indicator that can be used to access the document 102. TheDTS 101 retrieves the document 102 from secure storage and provides it(or a representation thereof) to the signer client device 51 forpresentation. The signer 111 operates a Web browser or other clientmodule (e.g., mobile app) executing on the signer client device 51 toaccess and review the document 102. When the document 102 has beenreviewed to the satisfaction of the signer 111, the signer attaches (orprovides an indication or instruction to attach) his electronicsignature to the document 102. Once the signing has been completed, theDTS 101 stores the document 102 in association with signature data andany other evidence of the signing that needs be retained, such as userinformation, timestamps, and the like.

Once the signer 111 has signed the document 102, the DTS 101 typicallynotifies the sender 110 that the document has been signed. For example,the DTS 101 may transmit (e.g., in an email) a URL, link, or otheridentifier of the document 102 to the sender client device 50. Thesender 110 can then use a browser or other client logic executing on thesender client device 50 to access the signed document on the DTS 101.

The DTS 101 may perform other or additional functions. For example, theDTS 101 may provide a transaction room, as described herein, whereparticipants can view, access, and edit documents assigned to thetransaction room. The DTS 101 may maintain copies of documents based onactions associated with the documents such that snapshots of thedocument may be obtained to preserve the document as provided to arecipient of the transaction. The DTS 101 may also maintain pre-taggeddocuments such that upon association of a recipient with a signing role,the documents may be automatically tagged for electronic signature basedon the signing roles of the pre-tags. In some embodiments, a template ofa form may be created where the creator applies all of the eSignelements (e.g., sign, date, name, initials, or the like), which may bereferred to as the pre-tags. Then, when the document is put into atransaction, the documents is matched with the template to get the eSigntags.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an alternative example embodiment of adigital transaction service. System 200 may be an embodiment of system100 of FIG. 1. In this alternative embodiment, DTS 101 may include adocument manager 201 and a transaction room 202. The document manager201 may be a service (e.g., a web-based service) that can enable one ormore participants to create, view, access, and/or edit document 102.Although illustrated as a single document, document 102 may include aplurality of documents. In some embodiments, a document owner or otherpermitted participants may have access to the document manager 201,while some participants may not have access to document 102 in thedocument manager 201.

The transaction room 202 may be a service that enables one or moreparticipants 112 to view, access, and/or edit documents for electronicsignatures by one or more recipients. A participant operating otherparticipant client device 52 in order to view and/or access documents.In various embodiments, the other participants 112 may include sender110, signer 111, and/or other participants in the digital transactionwho may or may not be sending or signing documents but still requireaccess. For example, in the real estate transaction context, an officeassistant in a real estate office may require access to documentsrelated to the purchase and sale of a house (e.g., agreements,disclosures, notices), but would ordinarily not need the ability to sendor sign such documents.

In various embodiments, a document owner may link document 102 fromdocument manager 201 to the transaction room 202. In the transactionroom, a participant can tag a document for electronic signature by oneor more signers 111 (who may also be referred to as a recipient of atransaction). In some embodiments, a participant may be enabled toassociate one or more participants (i.e., one or more recipients) withone or more signing roles. These signing roles may be employed to assignparticipants to particular electronic signature tags based on pre-tagsand their corresponding signing roles.

As described herein, the document manager 201 may maintain editableversions of the documents (e.g., edit the content of the document),while the workspace 202 may maintain non-editable copies (e.g., cannotedit the underlying content of the document but can add, remove, or edittags for electronic signatures) of the documents and update the copiesaccordingly. In various embodiments, the document manager 201 may be atransaction room with editable documents, while transaction room 202 maybe a transaction room with non-editable document copies (e.g., preparedfor electronic signature).

In particular, the transaction room 202 may make and maintain copies ofthe document 102, such as copy 103. Copies are created by thetransaction room 202 in response to various types of triggeringconditions. For example, an agent or broker acting as one of theparticipants 112 may make an edit to a purchase agreement, modifying thepurchase price or some other term. When this purchase agreement isshared with, for example, the signer 111, the transaction room 202creates and stores a copy of the purchase agreement as document copy103. When the signer 111 accesses the shared document, the signer 111will see the document copy 103, which reflects the state of the document102 at the time it was shared or sent to be signed. Note that betweenthe time the modified document was shared and the time at which thesigner 111 accesses the document, the document 102 may have been againmodified. In such a case, the signer 111 will also access the documentcopy 103, reflecting the state of the document 102 at the time it wasshared, and not the current version of the document 102.

In some embodiments, the document manager 201 is hosted or operated by aparty or organization that is distinct and/or separate from the party ororganization that hosts the digital transaction service 101. Forexample, in a real estate transactions context, the document manager 201may be hosted by a system that specializes in preparing and organizingreal estate transaction forms, including purchase and sale agreements,broker agreements, disclosures, and the like.

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of an example screenshot of a transactionroom. Screenshot 300 may include a plurality of different types ofinformation that may be accessible in a transaction room. For example,the transaction room may include documents 302, envelopes 304, andparticipants 306.

Documents 302 may include thumbnails of one or more documents that havebeen assigned to the transaction room. In various embodiments, aparticipant may be enabled to add or delete documents (noting thatdeleting may be reserved to an owner of the document or participantswith particular permissions) or may access a document by clicking on thethumbnail. In some embodiments, if a participant deletes the document inits original location, then the backup copy and full history may bemaintained in the transaction room. In other embodiments, deletion ofthe document results in deletion all document copies.

In at least one embodiment, a participant may be enabled to fast filldocuments based on previously provided information. In some embodiments,clicking on a document thumbnail may open a window or screen that showsa history of actions on a document (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4). In otherembodiments, clicking on the document thumbnail may open the document,which, in some embodiments, may include additional action buttons (e.g.,view activity or view history of actions).

Envelopes 304 may include thumbnails of one or more envelopes ofdocuments prepared for electronic signature by one or more recipients(who are participants in a transaction room). Envelopes are used tomanage files, such as documents, associated with a digital transaction.In at least one embodiment, an envelope is a an electronic container(e.g., data structure, record) that is used to organize documents andrelated information (e.g., sender and signer identity information,signature event information) for purposes of gathering electronicsignatures for a transaction. In various embodiments, a participant maybe enabled to add or delete envelopes (noting that deleting may bereserved to an owner or creator of the envelope) or may access anenvelope by clicking on the thumbnail.

Participants 306 may include a list of each participant in thetransaction room. In various embodiments, each participant may have oneor more permissions regarding which documents and/or envelopes they canaccess, add, delete, edit, or the like.

In some embodiments, one or more participants may be assigned orotherwise associated with one or more signing roles. These participantsmay be referred to as recipients. Clicking on button 308 may openanother window or webpage such that the participants can be associatedwith signing roles, such as the examples shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 4 shows an illustration of an example screenshot of a documenthistory in a transaction room. As described herein, a copy of thedocument may be maintained based on an action associated with thedocument. Example 400 illustrates a list of previous actions for aparticular document. The example includes a plurality of actions 402that have been performed on the document by various participants in thetransaction room. Based on the action, a copy of the document may bemaintained, such that it can be accessed later (e.g., by click on the“view” link) by the document owner. For example, if the document haschanged since it was last copied, a new current copy may be obtained andmade accessible in the document's history.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show illustrations of example screenshots of theassociation of participants and signing roles in a transaction room.Examples 500A and 500B of FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively, may enable aparticipant to establish or associate participants with one or moresigning roles. For example, pull-down menus 504 may enable theparticipant to select which participant is associated with which signingrole 502. In some embodiments, permissions of the participants mayindicate which participants assign signing roles to other participants.In at least one embodiment, once a participant is associated with asigning role, it may list that participant and may include a transactionroom role.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C show illustrations of example screenshots ofunassociated signing roles and corresponding documents in an envelopewithin a transaction room. As described herein, a document may bepre-tagged for one or more signing roles. If a pre-tagged signing roleis not associated with a participant (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5B), then alist of unassociated signing roles may be listed, which is illustratedin FIG. 6A.

In an alternative embodiment, the documents that have unassociatedpre-tag signing roles may be listed. FIG. 6B shows one example of such alist. In yet another alternative embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 6C,lists each document in the transaction room and whether or not it hasbeen pre-tagged for eSignature. The list of documents may be generatedonce the document is added to an envelope that is pre-tagged foreSignature.

Example Processes

The operation of certain aspects of the invention will now be describedwith respect to FIGS. 7-9. In at least one of various embodiments,processes 700, 800, or 900 of FIGS. 7-9, respectively, may beimplemented by and/or executed on one or more computers, such ascomputing system 10 of FIG. 10 or other network computers or device.Additionally, various embodiments described herein can be implemented ina system such as system 100 of FIG. 1 and/or system 200 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of an overview process for managing document snapshots in adigital transaction service (e.g., DTS 101 in FIG. 1 or 2) to providecopies of documents to participants for review and/or signature. Process700 begins, after a start block, at block 702, where a transaction roommay be established.

In at least one of various embodiments, a plurality of participants maybe identified as having controlled access to the transaction room and/ordocuments within the transaction room. In some embodiments, participantsmay be limited with respect to which documents they can access and/oredit based on preferences, parameters, or other characteristics of thetransaction room, document, or participant.

Process 700 proceeds to block 704, where one or more documents may beassigned to a transaction room. In some embodiments, a participant ofthe transaction room may be enabled to upload a document to thetransaction room. This participant is referred to as the owner of thedocument. In some embodiments, only certain participants may be enabledto upload documents, while other participants can only view or accessdocuments already assigned to the transaction room.

In various embodiments, the transaction room may be maintained by adigital transaction service that provides an electronic signatureservice. In at least one embodiment, the documents in the transactionroom (e.g., transaction room 202 in FIG. 2) may be linked to theelectronic signature service from another web-based service (e.g., adocument manager 201 in FIG. 2). In at least one such embodiment, theother web-based service may maintain editable versions of the documents,while the electronic signature service may maintain copies of thedocuments and update the document copies as described herein.Embodiments, however, are not so limited and a single electronicsignature service may maintain editable and non-editable versions of thedocuments.

Process 700 proceed to block 705, where an envelope is created. In someembodiments, one or more documents may be added or otherwise included inthe envelope for review or signature by one or more participants.

Process 700 proceeds to block 706, where one or more of the participantsmay be associated with one or more signing roles. In some embodiments,the signing roles may include those participants that may be enabled toreview or electronically sign one or more documents within an envelopeof a digital transaction.

Process 700 may continue at decision block 708, where a determinationmay be made whether a document snapshot trigger has occurred or beenreceived. In various embodiments, a document snapshot trigger may bebased on an action performed by a participant, which may include, but isnot limited to, accessing a document, saving a document, closing adocument (e.g., after an edit or modification to a document), sharing adocument, emailing a document, faxing a document, or the like, or somecombination thereof. In some embodiments, some actions may trigger adocument snapshot, while other actions may not. If a document snapshottrigger has occurred, then process 710 may proceed to block 710;otherwise, process 700 may flow to block 712.

At block 710, the process may store a copy of the document. In at leastone of various embodiments, the document copy may be a PDF document,image of the document, or the like. In various embodiments, the documentcopy may be non-editable by the participants in the transaction room,while the original document is maintained in an editable form. Forexample, assume the document snapshot trigger is a documentmodification. If a participant modifies a document (e.g., at a web-basedservice that is linked to the transaction room in the electronicsignature service), then the electronic signature service may store acopy of the document. In another example, assume the document snapshottrigger is sharing a document. If a participant shares a document, suchas by sending a link to the document (e.g., for review and/or electronicsignature), then the electronic signature service may store a copy ofthe document and may share a link to the document copy. In this way, therecipient of the shared document has access to the stored copy. And evenif further modifications are made to the document, the recipient willstill see the version of the document that was shared with therecipient.

If no document snapshot trigger has occurred or after block 710, theprocess proceeds to block 712, where the document copy may be providedto one or more participants. In some embodiments, the document copy maybe provided to the participant for review. In other embodiments, thedocument copy may be prepared for electronic signature by one or more ofthe participants. In at least one such embodiment, the document copy maybe tagged for electronic signature. In various embodiments, the documentcopy may be provided to the participants by various means, such as fax,email, links, or the like. As described herein, the link may point orotherwise reference the document copy so that modification to thedocument do not affect the version provided to the participant.

After block 712, process 700 terminates and/or returns to a callingprocess to perform other actions.

FIG. 8 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for storing copies of documents in an electronicsignature system based on document snapshot triggers. Process 800begins, after a start block, at block 802, where a document may becreated in a transaction room. In various embodiments, a document may becreated by uploading a document to a transaction room. In otherembodiments, a document may be obtained from a catalog or library ofdocuments and added to the transaction room.

As described herein, a first web-based service may manage editabledocuments of a transaction room and an electronic signature service maymaintain copies of documents prepared for signatures by recipients of anenvelope of the transaction room. So, a participant may create adocument by uploading or adding the document to the first web-basedservice and then linked to the transaction room maintained by theelectronic signature service. It should be understood that the documentsmay also be uploaded or added directly to the transaction room in theelectronic signature service.

Process 800 proceeds at block 804, where a first copy of the documentmay be stored. In at least one of various embodiments, this copy of thedocument may be referred to as a current copy (or current version) ofthe document.

In various embodiments, the electronic signature service may obtain acopy of the document and store the first copy in a format that isnon-editable by the participants of the transaction room. It should benoted, however, that a non-editable document copy refers to a documentwhose content cannot be altered, but that additional content and/ormetadata can be added to or associated with the document. The addedcontent, for example, may include one or more tags for one or moreparticipants to sign, add a date, input information (e.g., a name, emailaddress, title, or the like), check boxes, radio buttons, or the like.In at least one of various embodiments, the added content may overlay,but not replace or alter, the underlying content (thus considering thedocument copy non-editable).

Process 800 proceeds to block 806, where one or more participants may beenabled to edit the document. In a preferred embodiment, the document beonly be editable by the document owner. In various embodiments, theoriginal document may be edited, such as by adding, removing, ormodifying content of the document. In at least one of variousembodiments, editing the document may not alter or change the storeddocument copy. In some embodiments, one or more of the participants mayhave permission to access and edit the document, while one or more otherparticipants may not have permission to edit the document, but canaccess and view the document. In at least one embodiment, only thedocument owner can edit the document and other participants can accessthe document.

Process 800 continues at block 808, where an action regarding thedocument may be received. In various embodiments, the received actionmay be associated with a document snapshot trigger. Such actions mayinclude, but are not limited to, changing the document, viewing thedocument, faxing the document, emailing the document, sharing thedocument (e.g., through a link), or the like.

Process 800 then proceeds to decision block 810, where a determinationmay be made whether the document has changed compared to the storeddocument copy. In at least one embodiment, this comparison may beperformed by one or more document change recognition techniques. If thedocument has changed, then process 800 flows to block 812; otherwise,process 800 flows to block 814.

At block 812, a new copy of the document may be obtained and stored. Inat least one of various embodiments, block 812 may employ embodiments ofblock 804 to store a copy of the document. In various embodiments, thisnew copy of the document may become the current copy (or currentversion) of the document and the previous copy (as stored at block 804)may be archived.

In some embodiments, the new copy may be stored such that it correspondsto the action that triggered its creation. For example, an actionhistory may be maintained (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4), such that eachaction that triggered a new copy of the document to be obtained maycontain a link (or other reference) to that particular new copy of thedocument.

Process 800 then proceeds to block 814, where the received action may beperformed on the document copy. For example, if the action is to send alink of the document to a participant for the participant toelectronically sign the document, then the current copy of the documentmay be prepared and tagged for electronic signature by the participant.The tagged copy of the document may then be provided to the signingparticipant, such as by fax, email, a link, or the like.

After block 814, process 800 may loop to block 806 to continue to enableone or more participants (e.g., the document owner) to edit thedocument. Again, the original document may be maintained in an editableform, and copies of the document may be separately maintained forproviding to participants for review, signature, or the like.

FIG. 9 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for tagging a copy of a document for electronicsignature based on a pre-tagged document and associated signing roles.Process 900 begins, after a start block, at block 902, where one or moresigning roles for a document may be determined.

In various embodiments, each document in a transaction room may requireone or more participant signatures. Each signature that is required fora document may be associated with a signing role. For example, in realestate transfers, a sales agreement document may require both a sellerand a buyer to sign. In this example, the sales agreement document mayhave a seller signing role and a buyer signing role associated with thedocument. In some embodiments, the signing roles may be predeterminedbased on the type of document, provided by a participant (e.g., an ownerof a document), selected from a list of signing roles, or the like.These signing roles may be associated with a document when the documentis created and/or assigned to a transaction room.

Process 900 proceeds to block 904, where the document may be pre-tagged.In various embodiments, a tag identifying the visible location in adocument for a signature to be placed may be added to the document basedon the signing roles. For example, the real estate sales agreementdocument may include a seller's signature line and a buyer's signatureline. The document may be pre-tagged with a signing role for the selleron the seller's signature line and a signing role for the buyer on thebuyer's signature line.

Process 900 continues at block 906, where a participant in thetransaction room may be associated with a signing role. In someembodiments, each participant may correspond to a separate signing role.However, it should be recognized that some participants may not beassociated with a signing role, but may still be a participant in thetransaction room. For example, an attorney of the buyer may be aparticipant in a transaction room and can access to view documents, butmay not be associated with a signing role. In yet other embodiments, aparticipant may be associated with a plurality of signing roles and/or asigning role may be associated with a plurality of participants.

The process 900 then flows to block 908, where the document may betagged for electronic signature based on the pre-tag signing roles andtheir associated participants. In at least one of various embodiments, acopy of the document, as described herein, may be tagged for electronicsignature. This automatic tagging may be performed based on the pre-tagplacement, its corresponding signing role, and the participantassociated with the signing role. For example, the document may betagged for the seller to electronically sign the real estate salesagreement each place the document was pre-tagged with the seller signingrole. If a signing role does not have an associated participant, thenthe tagged document may not include a tag for the pre-tag of theunassociated signing role.

Process 900 then proceeds to decision block 910, where a determinationmay be made whether there are any pre-tagged signing roles withunassociated participants in the tagged document. In variousembodiments, this determination may be made based on a determination ofwhich pre-tags do not have an associated participant and are thereof notincluded in the tagged document. So, if the document includes a pre-tagfor a signing role and there is no participant associated with thatsigning role, then the resulting tagged document may not include a tagfor that corresponding pre-tag. However, if each pre-tag has anassociated participant, then the tagged document may include tags foreach pre-tag so there are no unassociated pre-tag signing roles. If apre-tag signing role is unassociated with a participant, then process900 flows to block 912; otherwise process 900 terminates and/or returnsto a calling process to perform other actions.

At block 912, a report may be generated and provided to a userindicating the unassociated pre-tag. In some embodiments, the report mayinclude a list of each document that has pre-tags with signing role thatare unassociated with a participant, such as illustrated in FIG. 6Band/or 6C. In other embodiments, the report may include a list of eachsigning role that is unassociated with a participant, but has acorresponding pre-tag in the document, such as illustrated in FIG. 6A.

After block 912, process 900 terminates and/or returns to a callingprocess to perform other actions.

FIG. 11 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for generating a copy of a document having a tagautomatically overlaid in the copy of the electronic document based on apre-tag. Process 1100 begins at block 1110, where one or more serversreceive a pre-tag-indicating a visible location within an electronicdocument for a signature of a signing role, the electronic documentcomprising terms of agreement data.

Process 1100 continues to block 1120, where the one or more serversreceive a selection of a user for association, with the signing role.

The process 1100 then flows to block 1130, where, responsive to anetwork action on the electronic document, the one or more serversgenerate a copy of the electronic document having a tag automaticallyoverlaid in the copy of the electronic document based on the pre-tag,the tag indicating the visible location for the user associated with thesigning role to sign.

Process 1100 proceeds to block 1140, where the one or more serverstransmit a web browser graphical user interface (GUI) configured todisplay the terms of agreement data of the copy of the electronicdocument and the tag indicating the visible location for the userassociated with the signing role to sign to a client device, the termsof agreement data of the copy of the electronic document not beingeditable by the client device through the web browser GUI.

It should be understood that the embodiments described in the variousflowcharts may be executed in parallel, in series, or a combinationthereof, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Accordingly, oneor more blocks or combinations of blocks in the various flowcharts maybe performed concurrently with other blocks or combinations of blocks.Additionally, one or more blocks or combinations of blocks may beperformed in a sequence that varies from the sequence illustrated in theflowcharts.

Further, the embodiments described herein and shown in the variousflowcharts may be implemented as entirely hardware embodiments (e.g.,special-purpose hardware), entirely software embodiments (e.g.,processor-readable instructions), or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, software embodiments can include multiple processes orthreads, launched statically or dynamically as needed, or the like.

The embodiments described herein and shown in the various flowcharts maybe implemented by computer instructions (or processor-readableinstructions). These computer instructions may be provided to one ormore processors to produce a machine, such that execution of theinstructions on the processor causes a series of operational steps to beperformed to create a means for implementing the embodiments describedherein and/or shown in the flowcharts. In some embodiments, thesecomputer instructions may be stored on machine-readable storage media,such as processor-readable non-transitory storage media.

Example Computing System Implementation

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example computing system forimplementing example embodiments of a digital transaction service. Inparticular, FIG. 10 shows a system that includes computing system 10that may be utilized to implement a DTS 101 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1 or2).

Note that one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computingsystems/devices may be used to implement the DTS 101. In addition, thecomputing system 10 may comprise one or more distinct computingsystems/devices and may span distributed locations. Furthermore, eachblock shown may represent one or more such blocks as appropriate to aspecific embodiment or may be combined with other blocks. Also, the DTS101 may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or in somecombination to achieve the capabilities described herein.

In the embodiment shown, computing system 100 comprises a computermemory 11, a display 12, one or more Central Processing Units (“CPU”)13, input/output devices 14 (e.g., keyboard, mouse, LCD display, touchscreen, and the like), other computer-readable media 15, and a networkconnection 16 connected to a network 99.

The DTS 101 is shown residing in memory 11. In other embodiments, someportion of the contents, some or all of the components of the DTS 101may be stored on and/or transmitted over the other computer-readablemedia 15. The components of the DTS 101 preferably execute on one ormore CPUs 13 and perform the processes described herein. Other code orprograms 30 (e.g., an administrative interface, a Web server, and thelike) and a data store 20, also reside in the memory 11, and preferablyexecute on one or more CPUs 13. Of note, one or more of the componentsin FIG. 10 may not be present in any specific implementation. Forexample, some embodiments may not provide other computer-readable media15 or a display 12.

The DTS 101 may perform electronic signature-related functions for or onbehalf of users operating a sender client device 50 and/or a signerclient device 51. In one embodiment, a sender operating sender clientdevice 50 imports (e.g., transmits, uploads, sends) a document to beelectronically signed into the DTS 101. The DTS 101 securely stores thedocument securely in data store 20. Secure document storage may includeusing cryptographic techniques to detect document tampering, such asgenerating hashes, message digests, or the like.

A signer operating the signer client device 51 may then access, review,and sign the document stored by the DTS 101. In some embodiments, theDTS 101 transmits images or some other representation of the document tothe signer client device 51, which in turn transmits an indication ofthe signer's signature (or intent to sign) to the DTS 101. The DTS 101then securely stores the signer's signature in association with thedocument in the data store 20. After signing the document, the signerusing signer client device 51 can cause the DTS 101 to provide thesigned document to one or more recipients, such as via email, fax, orother mechanism.

The DTS 101 may perform other or additional functions, such asselectively copying documents based on participant actions and/orautomatically tagging documents based on a pre-tagged document withsigning roles, as described herein. Also, the DTS 101 may provide (e.g.,transmit) code modules that can be installed on the client devices 50and/or 51 and that are configured to integrate the client devices 50and/or 51 with the DTS 101. As one example, the code module may be amobile application (e.g., app) that is installed on the signer clientdevice 51. As another example, the code module may extend thefunctionality of an email client or other application by adding acontrol (e.g., button, menu item, widget) that is configured to import,in response to selection or activation by a user, a received documentsinto the DTS 101.

The illustrated example DTS 101 may also interact with a user interface(“UP”) manager 41 and an application program interface (“API”) 42. TheUI manager 41 and API 42 are shown in dashed lines to indicate that inother embodiments they may be provided by other, possibly remote,computing systems. The UI manager 41 provides a view and a controllerthat facilitate user interaction with the DTS 101 and its variouscomponents. For example, the UI manager 41 may provide interactiveaccess to the DTS 101, such that users can upload or download documentsfor signature, review and modify documents, transmit or otherwiseprovide signed documents to recipients, and the like. In someembodiments, access to the functionality of the UI manager 41 may beprovided via a Web server, possibly executing as one of the otherprograms 30. In such embodiments, a user operating a Web browser (orother client) executing on one of the client devices 50 or 51 caninteract with the DTS 101 via the UI manager 41.

The API 42 provides programmatic access to one or more functions of theDTS 101. For example, the API 42 may provide a programmatic interface toone or more functions of the DTS 101 that may be invoked by one of theother programs 30 or some other module. In this manner, the API 42facilitates the development of third-party software, such as userinterfaces, plug-ins, news feeds, adapters (e.g., for integratingfunctions of the DTS 101 into Web applications), and the like. Inaddition, the API 42 may be in at least some embodiments invoked orotherwise accessed via remote entities, such as the third-party system55, to access various functions of the DTS 101. For example, a hostedemail service executing on the third-party system 55 may provide accessto the electronic signature functionality of the DTS 101 via the API 42.As another example, an e-commerce site (e.g., online store) executing onthe third-party system 55 may provide access to the electronic signaturefunctionality of the DTS 101 via the API 42, such as by providing asignature control/widget configured, when selected by a user, toinitiate an electronic signature process as described herein.

The data store 20 is used by the other modules of the DTS 101 to storeand/or communicate information. The components of the DTS 101 use thedata store 20 to record various types of information, includingdocuments, signatures, tracked form entries, and the like. Although thecomponents of the DTS 101 are described as communicating primarilythrough the data store 20, other communication mechanisms arecontemplated, including message passing, function calls, pipes, sockets,shared memory, and the like.

The DTS 101 interacts via the network 99 with client devices 50 and 51,and third-party systems 55. The network 99 may be any combination of oneor more media (e.g., twisted pair, coaxial, fiber optic, radiofrequency), hardware (e.g., routers, switches, repeaters, transceivers),and one or more protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, WiMAX)that facilitate communication between remotely situated humans and/ordevices. In some embodiments, the network 99 may be or include multipledistinct communication channels or mechanisms (e.g., cable-based andwireless). The client devices 50 and 51 include personal computers,laptop computers, smart phones, personal digital assistants, tabletcomputers, kiosk systems, and the like. The third-party systems 55 andclient devices 50 and 51 may be or include computing systems and/ordevices constituted in a manner similar to that of computing system 100,and thus may also include displays, CPUs, other I/O devices (e.g., acamera), network connections, or the like.

In an example embodiment, components/modules of the DTS 101 areimplemented using standard programming techniques. For example, the DTS101 may be implemented as a “native” executable running on the CPU 13,along with one or more static or dynamic libraries. In otherembodiments, the DTS 101 may be implemented as instructions processed bya virtual machine that executes as one of the other programs 30. Ingeneral, a range of programming languages known in the art may beemployed for implementing such example embodiments, includingrepresentative implementations of various programming languageparadigms, including but not limited to, object-oriented (e.g., Java,C++, C#, Visual Basic.NET, Smalltalk, and the like), functional (e.g.,ML, Lisp, Scheme, and the like), procedural (e.g., C, Pascal, Ada,Modula, and the like), scripting (e.g., Perl, Ruby, Python, JavaScript,VBScript, and the like), and declarative (e.g., SQL, Prolog, and thelike).

The data store 20 may be implemented as one or more database systems,file systems, or any other technique for storing such information, orany combination of the above, including implementations usingdistributed computing techniques. In addition, some embodiments mayprovide one or more interfaces to the data stored as part of the DTS101. Such interfaces may be provided via database connectivity APIsaccessed from a variety of programming languages, web-based interfaces,file systems interfaces, or the like.

Different configurations and locations of programs and data arecontemplated for use with techniques described herein. A variety ofdistributed computing techniques are appropriate for implementing thecomponents of the illustrated embodiments in a distributed mannerincluding but not limited to TCP/IP sockets, RPC, RMI, HTTP, WebServices (XML-RPC, JAX-RPC, SOAP, and the like). Other variations arepossible. Also, other functionality could be provided by eachcomponent/module, or existing functionality could be distributed amongstthe components/modules in different ways, yet still achieve thefunctions described herein.

Furthermore, in certain embodiments, some or all of the components ofthe DTS 101 may be implemented or provided in other manners, such as atleast partially in firmware and/or hardware, including, but not limitedto one or more application-specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”),standard integrated circuits, controllers executing appropriateinstructions, and including microcontrollers and/or embeddedcontrollers, field-programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”), complexprogrammable logic devices (“CPLDs”), and the like. Some or all of thesystem components and/or data structures may also be stored as contents(e.g., as executable or other machine-readable software instructions orstructured data) on a computer-readable medium (e.g., as a hard disk; amemory; a computer network or cellular wireless network or other datatransmission medium; or a portable media article to be read by anappropriate drive or via an appropriate connection, such as a DVD orflash memory device) so as to enable or configure the computer-readablemedium and/or one or more associated computing systems or devices toexecute or otherwise use or provide the contents to perform at leastsome of the described techniques. Some or all of the components and/ordata structures may be stored in a non-transitory manner on tangible,non-transitory storage mediums. Some or all of the system components anddata structures may also be stored as data signals (e.g., by beingencoded as part of a carrier wave or included as part of an analog ordigital propagated signal) on a variety of computer-readabletransmission mediums, which are then transmitted, including acrosswireless-based and wired/cable-based mediums, and may take a variety offorms (e.g., as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal, or asmultiple discrete digital packets or frames). Such computer programproducts may also take other forms in other embodiments. Accordingly,embodiments of this disclosure may be practiced with other computersystem configurations.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, as noted above, many changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope ofthe invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by one ormore servers, a pre-tag-indicating a visible location within anelectronic document for a signature of a signing role, the electronicdocument comprising terms of agreement data; transmitting, by the one ormore servers to a client device associated with a first user, a webbrowser graphical user interface (GUI) configured to display the signingrole and an available set of users able to be associated with thesigning role; receiving, by the one or more servers via the GUI,selection of a second user of the set of users for association with thesigning role; associating the second user with the signing role; andresponsive to the selection, generating, by the one or more servers, acopy of the electronic document having a tag automatically overlaid inthe copy of the electronic document based on the pre-tag, the tagindicating the visible location for the second user associated with thesigning role to sign.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein associating thesecond user with the signing role comprises: tagging the electronicdocument with the tag, the tag a signature tag that corresponds to thesigning role.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signing role is oneof a plurality of signing roles associated with the electronic document.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that thesigning role is unassociated with any user of the available set ofusers; and providing a report identifying that the signing role isunassociated.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determiningthat the signing role is unassociated with any user of the available setof users; and providing a report identifying that the electronicdocument has one or more signing roles that are unassociated.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: generating, by the one or moreservers, a history GUI document comprising a list of a plurality ofactions taken on the electronic document, the list comprising view linksto a plurality of copies of the electronic document including at least afirst link to the copy of the electronic document and a second link to asecond copy of the electronic document that was generated in response toa further change to the electronic document; receiving, from the clientdevice, a selection of one of the view links; and responsive toreceiving the selection of one of the view links, transmitting the copyof the electronic document that corresponds to the selection.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to delete theelectronic document; and responsive to the request, deleting theelectronic document.
 8. A non-transitory computer readable storagemedium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, causethe processor to perform the steps of: receiving, by one or moreservers, a pre-tag-indicating a visible location within an electronicdocument for a signature of a signing role, the electronic documentcomprising terms of agreement data; transmitting, by the one or moreservers to a client device associated with a first user, a web browsergraphical user interface (GUI) configured to display the signing roleand an available set of users able to be associated with the signingrole; receiving, by the one or more servers via the GUI, selection of asecond user of the set of users for association with the signing role;associating the second user with the signing role; and responsive to theselection, generating, by the one or more servers, a copy of theelectronic document having a tag automatically overlaid in the copy ofthe electronic document based on the pre-tag, the tag indicating thevisible location for the second user associated with the signing role tosign.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8,wherein associating the second user with the signing role comprises:tagging the electronic document with the tag, the tag a signature tagthat corresponds to the signing role.
 10. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the signing role is one of aplurality of signing roles associated with the electronic document. 11.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, whereinthe steps further comprise: determining that the signing role isunassociated with any user of the available set of users; and providinga report identifying that the signing role is unassociated.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein thesteps further comprise: determining that the signing role isunassociated with any user of the available set of users; and providinga report identifying that the electronic document has one or moresigning roles that are unassociated.
 13. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the steps further comprise:generating, by the one or more servers, a history GUI documentcomprising a list of a plurality of actions taken on the electronicdocument, the list comprising view links to a plurality of copies of theelectronic document including at least a first link to the copy of theelectronic document and a second link to a second copy of the electronicdocument that was generated in response to a further change to theelectronic document; receiving, from the client device, a selection ofone of the view links; and responsive to receiving the selection of oneof the view links, transmitting the copy of the electronic document thatcorresponds to the selection.
 14. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 8, wherein the steps further comprise: receivinga request to delete the electronic document; and responsive to therequest, deleting the electronic document.
 15. A system comprising: aprocessor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumcomprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to perform the steps of: receiving, by one or more servers, apre-tag-indicating a visible location within an electronic document fora signature of a signing role, the electronic document comprising termsof agreement data; transmitting, by the one or more servers to a clientdevice associated with a first user, a web browser graphical userinterface (GUI) configured to display the signing role and an availableset of users able to be associated with the signing role; receiving, bythe one or more servers via the GUI, selection of a second user of theset of users for association with the signing role; associating thesecond user with the signing role; and responsive to the selection,generating, by the one or more servers, a copy of the electronicdocument having a tag automatically overlaid in the copy of theelectronic document based on the pre-tag, the tag indicating the visiblelocation for the second user associated with the signing role to sign.16. The system of claim 15, wherein associating the second user with thesigning role comprises: tagging the electronic document with the tag,the tag a signature tag that corresponds to the signing role.
 17. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the signing role is one of a plurality ofsigning roles associated with the electronic document.
 18. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the steps further comprise: determining that thesigning role is unassociated with any user of the available set ofusers; and providing a report identifying that the signing role isunassociated.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein the steps furthercomprise: determining that the signing role is unassociated with anyuser of the available set of users; and providing a report identifyingthat the electronic document has one or more signing roles that areunassociated.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the steps furthercomprise: generating, by the one or more servers, a history GUI documentcomprising a list of a plurality of actions taken on the electronicdocument, the list comprising view links to a plurality of copies of theelectronic document including at least a first link to the copy of theelectronic document and a second link to a second copy of the electronicdocument that was generated in response to a further change to theelectronic document; receiving, from the client device, a selection ofone of the view links; and responsive to receiving the selection of oneof the view links, transmitting the copy of the electronic document thatcorresponds to the selection.